Department for Transport

Midland Main Railway Line

lord bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on journey times of the introduction of Intercity Express Programme trains between London and Sheffield.

lord callanan: The Intercity Express Programme trains are set to be used on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line. The bi-mode fleet that will provide passenger services between London and Sheffield has yet to be specified.

Egypt: Aviation

lord risby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measurements of safety levels they apply to Sharm El Sheikh airport.

lord risby: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the report arising from the most recent inspection of Sharm El Sheikh airport.

lord callanan: The Department for Transport carries out regular assessments of aviation security at all last points of departure airports to the UK from Egypt. It is long standing government policy not to comment, or publish, details on security matters. However the Government works closely with international partners, including airlines, airports and the Egyptian Government, on security standards. The Government hopes to be in a position to change travel advice to enable flights to the UK from Sharm El Sheikh as soon as security conditions allow.

Attorney General

Islamic State: Prosecutions

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the recommendation in paragraph 6.2.3. of Council of Europe Resolution 2190 (2017) regarding “not prioritising, systematically and exclusively, with regard to the members of Daesh, the application of national anti-terrorist legislation, to the detriment of their universal jurisdiction when examining cases involving the crimes described in the Rome Statute of the ICC”.

lord keen of elie: Prosecutors decide which offences to pursue on a case-by-case basis and do not systematically and exclusively prefer some categories of offences over others. In all cases the Code for Crown Prosecutors requires prosecutors to select charges which: reflect the seriousness and extent of the offending supported by the evidence; give the court adequate powers to sentence and impose appropriate post-conviction orders; and enable the case to be presented in a clear and simple way.

Department for International Development

USA: UNESCO

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UNESCO of the government of the United States' announcement of its intention to withdraw fromUNESCOat the end of 2018.

lord bates: The UK is committed to the issues UNESCO works on. The US withdrawal will be a loss to its global membership. The UK has been clear that we expect reform from UNESCO. The 2016 DFID Multilateral Development Review scored UNESCO lowest of all the UN agencies. We will maintain pressure to drive up performance – and in particular to address serious concerns about financial and risk management.

UNICEF: Finance

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the Department for International Development's core and non-core funding to UNICEF in (1) 2014–15, (2) 2015–16, and (3) 2016–17.

lord bates: The Department for International Development's core and non-core funding to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in (1) 2014–15, (2) 2015–16, and (3) 2016–17 can be found in the table below. These figures are taken from ‘Statistics on International Development: gross public expenditure tables’ and DFID’s management information system. (£ Millions)2014/152015/162016/17DFID core funding to UNICEF484848DFID non-core funding to UNICEF266.5276.3349.2Total DFID funding to UNICEF314.5324.3397.2 The non-core figure for 2016/17 is provisional. It may be subject to minor revisions when the 2016 and 2017 Official Development Assistance (ODA) statistics are published.

Marie Stopes International: Finance

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what core and non-core funding the Department for International Development provided to Marie Stopes International in (1) 2014–15, (2) 2015–16, and (3) 2016–17.

lord bates: Between April 2014 and March 2017, DFID provided Marie Stopes International (MSI) with core funding to the value of £12.0 million and non-core funding to the value of £112.9 million. A breakdown of this funding by financial year is provided below.  Core fundingNon-core funding2014-15£4.4 million£34.0 million2015-16£4.4 million£41.7 million2016-17£3.3 million£37.2 million Core funding was delivered through DFID’s Programme Partnership Arrangement, which supported MSI to deliver improvements in maternal health in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.Non-core funding supports programmes delivered by MSI. DFID support to these programmes enables women and girls to complete their education, take up better economic opportunities and have control over their own lives, therefore transforming lives, and creating more prosperous and stable societies.

Department for Education

Academies: Pay

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the pay and conditions of multi-academy trust staff are monitored.

lord agnew of oulton: Academy trusts are free to set their own salaries for staff, and we would expect this to reflect the size and complexity of the trust. The 2017 Academies Financial Handbook, copy attached, emphasises that decisions about levels of executive pay must follow a robust evidence-based process and are reflective of the individual’s role and responsibilities. Trusts must disclose senior staff pay annually in their audited accounts. Disclosure must include:the number of employees earning more than £60,000, set out in £10,000 bands; andnames of all staff who are also trustees and the remuneration they received. For a multi-academy trust this is likely to include the chief executive’s salary, unless in the exceptional case that they have chosen not to be a trustee.A list of academy trusts paying staff more than £150,000 will be included in the 2015/16 Academy Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA), which is due to be published in October 2017.



Academies Financial Handbook
(PDF Document, 1.35 MB)

Runaway Children

lord laming: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to prevent children in the care of local authorities from going missing.

lord agnew of oulton: We are clear that the right care placements for looked after children are vital for their stability, and these decisions should assess the risk of children going missing from placements. The Government’s ‘Missing Children and Adults strategy’ focuses primarily on vulnerable people who go missing within England and Wales, and provides a clear core framework in which we can work with local councils, police and other local partners to deliver collectively, the best protection possible for missing children, adults and their families. The Department’s 2014 statutory guidance on ‘Children who run away or go missing from home or care’, makes clear the expectations we have on local councils to work with police and other partners to safeguard all vulnerable children. In addition, since 2014, we have placed a duty on local councils to report all incidences of children going missing from care. Children’s homes must have policies to stop children going missing; and when children do go missing, they must respond in line with local police protocols that includes understanding patterns of missing episodes to put preventative steps in place. Local councils are continuing to improve data collections to include all incidents of children missing from care and so the numbers recorded are increasing as would be expected (although the data is still categorised as experimental). We will continue to assess data quality and what this indicates about managing risk.

Education: Commonwealth

lord luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to send a Minister to represent them at the Commonwealth Education Ministers Conference in Fiji in February 2018.

lord agnew of oulton: Ministers are currently considering attendance at the Commonwealth Education Ministers Conference in Fiji in February 2018, and a decision will be taken in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Mental Illness

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were transferred from prison to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 in (1) 2015; (2) 2016; and (3) 2017.

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who were transferred from prison to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 since 2015 waited for a transfer for more than (1) 14 days; (2) one month; (3) three months; (4) six months; and (5) one year.

lord keen of elie: The total number of prisoners who have been transferred to a secure hospital under sections 47 or 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in 2015, 2016 and 2017 is set out below: 2015 2016 2017 Total 1,010 980 724 Data for 2017 represent number of transfers from 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2017. The data are published annually on the gov.uk website under the Offender Management Statistics. The latest published data are up to December 2016. The figures for 2017 are taken directly from the Ministry of Justice’s case management system and will be subject to the appropriate checks and validation before eventual publication after December 2017.  The number of people who were transferred from prison to hospital under sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983 since 2015 who waited for a transfer for more than 14 days, one month, three months, six months and one year are set out in the table below. In order to answer the question, we have taken 1 month to equal 30 days. The time has been measured from the date at which the Ministry of Justice is provided with two medical assessments indicating transfer is appropriate, to the actual date of admission to hospital. The Ministry of Justice has a target of 24 hours within which to provide a transfer warrant, once both medical reports and all other relevant information is received. This target is met in 95% of cases.  > 14 days> 1 Month> 3 Months> 6 Months> 1 year20152619850020162356911002017 (to 30 Sept)17547400  This information is not published. The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. We take the mental health of prisoners extremely seriously, which is why we have increased the support available to vulnerable offenders - especially during the first 24 hours in custody - and invested more in mental health awareness training for prison officers.  But we recognise that more can be done and continue to work in partnership with HMPPS, NHS England and Public Health England to improve mental health services for offenders at all points of the criminal justice system.

Prisoners: Older People

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) males, and (2) females, who are currently serving prison sentences in England and Wales are over the age of 80.

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) males, and (2) females, currently serving a prison sentence who are over the age of 80, were over the age of 70 when sentenced.

lord keen of elie: As at 30 June 2017, there were 244 men and fewer than five women over the age of 80 serving prison sentences. 225 of the male prisoners and all of the women prisoners were aged 70 or over at the time they were sentenced.

Prisoners' Release: Housing

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of people leaving prison had settled accommodation arranged on release in each of the last three years.

lord keen of elie: Local Authorities are statutorily responsible for working with and supporting an individual in order to assist them into securing settled accommodation. However, as part of our probation reforms, we have extended services to provide improved support, pre and post-release, for offenders. This includes working with local partners to help them find accommodation. Up until 2014/15 prisons were responsible for collecting information on accommodation outcomes for prisoners on release. The figures were based on prisoners self-reporting and are therefore not directly comparable to the more recent performance information collected by Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), who became responsible from 1 May 2015 for helping offenders obtain suitable accommodation as part of their Through the Gate resettlement services. The table below sets out the national performance of CRCs in helping offenders secure accommodation on release from Quarter 4 of 2015/16 to Quarter 4 of 2016/17. This is taken from the Community Performance Quarterly Management Information Release published on 27 July 2017 on gov.uk. Table: Percentage of allocated persons with settled accommodation on release, Q4 2015/16 to Q4 2016/17, England & Wales (excluding London CRC)15/16 Q416/17 Q116/17 Q216/17 Q316/17 Q416/17 Year to date(Jan-Mar 16)(Apr-Jun 16)(Jul-Sep 16)(Oct-Dec 16)(Jan-Mar 17)70.6%69.9%69.9%69.9%69.6%69.8%Note: figures exclude London CRC due to insufficient data coverage.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pumpkins

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of pumpkins produced in England.

lord gardiner of kimble: Defra does not hold a record of the number of pumpkins produced in England. However, estimates from the British Growers Association are that 1,426 hectares of pumpkins were grown in the UK in 2016.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Non-domestic Rates: Tax Evasion

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many businesses have been found to be avoiding business rates through fraudulent use of mandatory business rates reliefs in each of the past five financial years; andwhat is their estimate of the loss of income resulting fromthat avoidance.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Local authorities already have significant powers to tackle and prosecute fraud to protect the public purse which we encourage them to utilise. Under the Local Government Finance Act 1988 if a ratepayer provides false information in their application to apply for small business rate relief that individual is liable to a summary conviction, a fine or both. The Fraud Act 2006 also provides local authorities legal powers to prosecute fraud to protect the public purse.The Government has been clear that it is committed to tackling avoidance in all forms of taxation. At the last count the Local Government Association (LGA) estimated that the losses due to business rates avoidance accounted for around £230 million.The Government recognises the importance of tackling rates avoidance and the Secretary of State wrote to you in September stating that his officials would work with the LGA to develop workable proposals, towards the aim of cracking down on those that abuse the system and closing down loopholes.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

lord elystan-morgan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement made byBaroness Goldie on 17 October (HL Deb, col 511), what undertakings they have provided to the devolved administrations to seek to negotiate with the EU in such a way as to serve the interests of the devolved administrations and the people they represent.

baroness anelay of st johns: As the Prime Minister has set out, as we leave the EU we are committed to securing a deal that works for the entire United Kingdom - for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and all parts of England.The Secretary of State is regularly engaging with ministers from the Scottish and Welsh Governments. The meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations, chaired by the First Secretary of State on 16 October, was the latest opportunity for the devolved administrations to contribute to this process.

Brexit

lord kinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the comments by a spokesperson for the Department for Exiting the European Union to the Guardian, published on 23 October, that “We are making real and tangible progress in a number of vital areas in negotiations”, what are those areas.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Government has increased certainty for citizens and businesses through the progress we’ve made on citizen’s rights - giving both British citizens in the EU and EU citizens in the UK the greatest possible legal certainty about the future.On 17 October, the Secretary of State updated Parliament on the October negotiating round, a statement repeated in the Lords by Baroness Goldie. This made clear that we have reached agreement on the criteria for residence rights, the right to work and to own a business, social security rights, rights for current family members, reciprocal healthcare rights, the rights of frontier workers, and the fact that the process for securing settled status in the UK will be streamlined and low cost.We have also made progress in regards to agreeing some of the key joint principles we want to adopt in relation to the issues arising for Northern Ireland and Ireland - in particular on the Common Travel Area and associated rights - a significant step forward.Finally, we have provided reassurance to our EU partners in regards to our mutual financial obligations. We have also been undertaking a rigorous examination of technical detail where we need to reach a shared view; this is an important step so that we will be able to reach technical agreement, when the time comes.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their position on the redrafting of Convention 108 of the Council of Europe.

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current state of negotiations regarding Convention 108 of the Council of Europe and when they anticipate agreement to this Convention from all countries of the Council of Europe.

lord ashton of hyde: Convention 108 is currently undergoing modernisation to address the growth and challenges of new information and communication technology, and to be brought in line with the new EU Data Protection regime. The UK Government supports this aim and will continue to work with all parties towards agreeing and concluding the modernised text.